I'm up anyway... might as well make it another two-hours-of-sleep night
Not the thing I wanted to be reading 4 days before my jury...
From Kochevitsky's The Art of Piano Playing:
Chapter Ten: Stage Fright
Stage fright, the thought of possible failure mixed with the hope of success, creates excitation in the speech region of the cortex which tends to spread over the whole cortex. The excitability of some nervous elements, often irrelevant to the present activity, is heightened, while the excitability of others, important for the normal flow of this activity, is partly or ompletely repressed. (So what you're saying is that there's no way this can go well...)
Any extra nervous excitation can immediately diminish or abolish established conditioned reflexes, even though only temporarily... (but somehow always just long enough to make you lose your cool.)
Long before a performance, just thinking about it can send waves of excitation from the speech center to other points of the central nervous system (Check yes.) . This expresses itself in heightened irritability (got it) , nervous trembling (even right now), and even influences the activity of the vegetative nervous system (if that means not sleeping, I know exactly what they're talking about).
During the performance, waves of this excitation irradiate over the cortex. Irrelevant thoughts flash through the brain (For example: "Why does Dr. Altman always have his shirt buttons mismatched?") , disturbing the normal course of nervous processes in piano playing. Several other stimulants, such as the stage itself, its arrangement, unusual lighting, an unfamiliar piano, to say nothing of the presence of the audience (Oh, yeah...Let's not forget that) , are added to the initial excitation...
Fingers do not obey, they stumble (Read: become worthless and don't listen to you at all) . The pianist's activity can stop completely. (Now there's something to look forward to...)
The playing becomes uneven, the innervation of movements premature.
Stage fright augments all ordinary defects. The performer will be unable to regulate the energy of movement, hence the quality of tone, to the detriment of dynamic shadings. Earlier mistakes, which were corrected, will be revived (I bet I can predict even now exactly those spots I'll miss) .
This excitation...can improve and strengthen the main activity. A large brightly lighted hall, the stage, and especially a sensitive audience following attentively will inspire the performer. (And then there are those times you're playing for Dr. John...not a man I'd include in my 'sensitive audience.') ...He will play even better than he ever played in more usual circumstances. (Prove it. Please.)
From Kochevitsky's The Art of Piano Playing:
Chapter Ten: Stage Fright
Stage fright, the thought of possible failure mixed with the hope of success, creates excitation in the speech region of the cortex which tends to spread over the whole cortex. The excitability of some nervous elements, often irrelevant to the present activity, is heightened, while the excitability of others, important for the normal flow of this activity, is partly or ompletely repressed. (So what you're saying is that there's no way this can go well...)
Any extra nervous excitation can immediately diminish or abolish established conditioned reflexes, even though only temporarily... (but somehow always just long enough to make you lose your cool.)
Long before a performance, just thinking about it can send waves of excitation from the speech center to other points of the central nervous system (Check yes.) . This expresses itself in heightened irritability (got it) , nervous trembling (even right now), and even influences the activity of the vegetative nervous system (if that means not sleeping, I know exactly what they're talking about).
During the performance, waves of this excitation irradiate over the cortex. Irrelevant thoughts flash through the brain (For example: "Why does Dr. Altman always have his shirt buttons mismatched?") , disturbing the normal course of nervous processes in piano playing. Several other stimulants, such as the stage itself, its arrangement, unusual lighting, an unfamiliar piano, to say nothing of the presence of the audience (Oh, yeah...Let's not forget that) , are added to the initial excitation...
Fingers do not obey, they stumble (Read: become worthless and don't listen to you at all) . The pianist's activity can stop completely. (Now there's something to look forward to...)
The playing becomes uneven, the innervation of movements premature.
Stage fright augments all ordinary defects. The performer will be unable to regulate the energy of movement, hence the quality of tone, to the detriment of dynamic shadings. Earlier mistakes, which were corrected, will be revived (I bet I can predict even now exactly those spots I'll miss) .
This excitation...can improve and strengthen the main activity. A large brightly lighted hall, the stage, and especially a sensitive audience following attentively will inspire the performer. (And then there are those times you're playing for Dr. John...not a man I'd include in my 'sensitive audience.') ...He will play even better than he ever played in more usual circumstances. (Prove it. Please.)